Government House, Auckland is the secondary

official residence An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...

of the

governor-general of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand ( mi, te kāwana tianara o Aotearoa) is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and li ...

located in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. The property is situated in the Auckland suburb of

Mount Eden Mount Eden is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand whose name honours George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland. It is south of the Central Business District (CBD). Mt Eden Road winds its way around the side of Mount Eden Domain and continues to weave ba ...

on Mountain Road. The building was erected in the 1920s as a private residence for

Frank Mappin Sir Frank Crossley Mappin, 6th Baronet (15 August 1884 – 25 January 1975) was a New Zealand orchardist, horticulturist and philanthropist. He was born in Scampton, Lincolnshire, England on 15 August 1884. He and his wife donated their Auckla ...

. Its construction required the demolition of another structure from the late-19th century. The Mappin family continued to own the residence until 1962, when they gave it to the Crown. The property has served as the official residence of the governor-general since 1969, following the departure of the Mappin family from property.

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...

, Auckland is the not the first property to serve as viceregal official residence in Auckland. The first Government House built in Auckland was completed in 1841, and was used as the residence for the governor of New Zealand until it burned down in 1848. Several other residences in Auckland were used to house the governor before

Old Government House Old Government House may refer to: * Old Government House, Parramatta, Australia * Old Government House, Queensland, Australia * Old Government House, South Australia, Australia * Old Government House, Hobart, Australia * Old Government House, ...

was completed in 1856. The present Government House replaced Old Government House as the governor-general's residence in Auckland in 1969.

History

Earlier Government Houses

The first Government House of Auckland was a prefabricated structure brought out by

William Hobson Captain William Hobson (26 September 1792 – 10 September 1842) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first Governor of New Zealand. He was a co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi. Hobson was dispatched from London in July 1 ...

in 1841. It was erected in Waterloo Quadrant and burned down in 1848 during

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...

's first period as governor. The decision to rebuild was delayed, probably due to the possibility of the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

being moved to Wellington (which is what transpired in 1864). During the interim period other houses acted as Government House; the Nathan Residence on

Karangahape Road Karangahape Road (commonly known as K' Road) is one of the main streets in the central business district (CBD) of Auckland, New Zealand. The massive expansion of motorways through the nearby inner city area – and subsequent flight of resident ...

, Colonel Wynyard's house in Official Bay and Hulme Court in Parnell. The replacement Government House by William Mason was not completed until 1856. It served as the Governor's Auckland residence until 1969, when it was superseded by Birchlands in Mount Eden. Now known as

, the 1856 Italianate Mansion is now part of the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

City Campus and has been converted into lecture theatres and a common room for faculty. the building was in a poor state of repair.

Present Government House

Private residence

The site was probably first built upon in the 1880s or 1890s, although some of the trees may be slightly older, dating from the 1870s. Sir Frank Mappin, 6th Baronet and his wife Lady Mappin bought the Mount Eden property in 1921. They replaced the existing 19th century house completely, and spent the next 45 years developing and landscaping the grounds. They called the house Birchlands after a previous residence in Britain. The Mappins decided to present the residence to the Crown to act as the new Government House. The recent Royal Tour in 1953 had highlighted many deficiencies in the

Waterloo Quadrant building Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

; the mid-Victorian structure was showing its age, and it felt increasingly hemmed in by the growing city and University and thus a possible security risk.

Acquisition by the Crown

The Mount Eden property was given to the Crown in 1962, although the Mappins did not depart until 1969. The deed of gift, signed by Sir Frank, and Prime Minister Keith Holyoake on 23 May that year declares that "the donor asmoved by his duty and loyalty to Her Majesty and by a desire to benefit her present and future subjects in New Zealand by the provision of a site of dignity and beauty for the residence in Auckland for Her Majesty's Representative in New Zealand". The deed states the property is given "upon trust for Her Majesty her heirs and successors according to law as a site for Government House in Auckland for ever ..". Republican

Brian Rudman Brian C. Rudman is a columnist and regular editorial contributor to ''The New Zealand Herald'', New Zealand's largest daily newspaper. He has his own column, 'Rudman's City', where he mainly focuses on issues relating to Auckland (New Zealand's lar ...

suggested that the House would have to be returned to the descendants of Sir Frank should New Zealand become a republic.

References

External links

* {{official, https://gg.govt.nz/government-house/government-house-auckland Official residences in New Zealand Buildings and structures in Auckland Government Houses of the British Empire and Commonwealth 1920s architecture in New Zealand 1920s establishments in New Zealand